To review: I was asking for recommendations on book browsing bins for my K and
4YrK at a K-2 school
Here are some great recommendations on types/uses from the collected responses:
I LOVE my book bins - I have the ones that are off the floor ... so the kids can
stand and browse through them. I have one very expensive one from Demco (or
Highsmith?) $350 or thereabouts .... But then I had the High School wood working
class make several copies for me. I think they are life savers - I have a large
amount of regular book shelving also for the easy books - but the kids go to the
browsers all the time ... I have them organized by theme ... dogs / cats / horses /
pirates/ dinosaurs/ magic school bus/ dragons etc. I also bought lots of display
shelves and lined them up against one wall and have easy non-fiction in those -
makes access and clean up much easier! I also have some cardboard boxes that I have
covered to keep "favorites" etc. I think it is just so hard for little guys to
choose by looking at the spine that this is the way to go. *********************
I bought a wooden stand that holds 8 bins in 2 sizes --- at a garage sale! At the
beginning of the year I told the kids to pick out a bin for their table (I have 6
tables with 4 at a table), and I make sure that I have books especially for K, 1st,
and 2nd graders, and manhy nonfiction books on high-interest topics (snakes, I spy,
cats and dogs, etc.) The bins have worked out great for us, and I plan on keeping
them. I also have the last group of the day put away the bins. Easy Peesy!
*******************
I use large plastic baskets in various colors that sit on top of my window sill. I
put them on the tables for kindergarten book exchange but the 1st and even 2nd
graders love to browse in them. It's easier than looking on the shelves I guess
and I always tell them I put the best books in the baskets. I bought them
inexpensively through the Really Good Stuff catalog. I liked the colors there.
But I have also picked them up in odd lot stores and such. I've been using the
ones I currently have for about 4-5 years and they are starting break so I'll have
to order more this summer. I get small baskets for pencils and such through the
catalog also.******************
I used to have a browsing bin at our Kindergarten building, but got rid of it. The
reason? SPACE. The library is a small room, and when we needed to add another
shelving unit for nonfiction, and another countertop for five more
computers...there was simply no room to move around in there anymore. So I removed
the book browsing bin and don't regret it at all. For the 4K students, we pull
some books and keep them in a separate Rubbermaid tub under a table, and pull them
out for the students to choose from. Kindergarteners have learned how to use shelf
markers. Shelving books takes longer, since I'm putting them back in the exact
correct spot rather than pitching them in a bin, but honestly, I don't mind. It
makes it easier to find books when I (or teachers or students) have a specific
title or topic in mind.******************
I have recently purchased some plastic bins and have placed them on tabletops for
browsing. I made and laminated picture labels for the bins and we put nonfiction
books in by topic. These are used mostly for the Primary kids. I have bins for
snakes, frogs, horses, cats, dogs, butterflies, chicks, land animals, sea animals,
things with wheels, community helpers, etc. My thought was that the most popular
could stay out all the time and additional subject area bins made to go with the
current interests.
I am very happy with this so far. The kids are enjoying this way of
finding books. I also have many display shelves for the easier nonfiction. ( Our
nonfiction shelves are not near the primary area of the library so this is a great
help).
I tried buying some bins from Target as they have a nice selection.
However, School Specialty has sturdy ones that come with school discounts so I made
a small order from there to try. I think I will order more from them for next year.
This is much more flexible than the expensive wooden browser bins. I
have a book shelf unit with 3 shelves that I can keep the bins on also to clear the
table if I need to.*********************
Mine are arranged by author's last name and I put cut-outs of the character so the
little ones can recognize the bin for Arthur, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes. I love
being able to power shelve the books; the students like being able to see the front
cover. All the tall Dr. Seusses are together; all the H.R. Rey clustered in a bin
as are the Robert Munsch which are mainly paperbacks and were always crushed on the
shelf. I'd love two more carts for Bunting, Rylant and a few others.
*******************
And here are some reasons to not go overboard with book bins:
I inherited a library last fall where all the "Easy" or "Everybody" books are in
bins. I cannot wait to get rid of them! I think having one or two would be okay,
but not all books "shelved" that way. When a student, teacher or me! wants to find
one particular book by one particular author we have do dig through the bins, one
book at a time, to find it. It is so frustrating to dig through 5 bins of books by
authors whose last name begins with "S" and not find what you are looking for! But
again, having one or two or four bins to put books in on a rotating basis for
students to browse through would be a great way to highlight books or to promote
good books which aren't circulating for lack of exposure.
Thanks for your help.
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Marcia Dressel, K-5 Librarian @ the
Elementary and Intermediate Schools
Osceola, WI
dressel@osceola.k12.wi.us <mailto:dressel@osceola.k12.wi.us>
http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/MDressel/
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